Adonis Rose


Adonis Patrick Rose is an American jazz drummer, composer, producer, bandleader, and educator. He is the Managing and Artistic Director of New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and a Grammy Award winner for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. He has appeared on more than 50 recordings and is known for his leadership of NOJO and collaborations with leading figures in contemporary jazz.

Career

Rose gained recognition performing with Dianne Reeves, Terence Blanchard, Nicholas Payton, Wynton Marsalis, and Harry Connick Jr.. He has performed at major venues including Carnegie Hall, Birdland, the Apollo Theater, the North Sea Jazz Festival, and the Newport Jazz Festival.
In 2009, Rose won a Grammy Award as a member of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra for Book One.

New Orleans Jazz Orchestra

In January 2017, Rose was appointed Managing and Artistic Director of NOJO. and the New Orleans Jazz Market, . He led the orchestra through its first full concert season post-Hurricane Katrina, collaborating with Sheila E., Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ledisi, Slick Rick, and Eric Benét.
Under his leadership, the orchestra released:
  • Songs: The Music of Allen Toussaint, praised by JazzTimes.
  • Petite Fleur, featuring Cyrille Aimée.
The orchestra also resumed regular programming at the New Orleans Jazz Market.

Education and Nonprofit Work

Following Hurricane Katrina, Rose relocated to the Dallas–Fort Worth area, serving as Artist in Residence at the University of Texas at Arlington and at the Jazz by the Boulevard Festival. He later founded the Fort Worth Jazz Orchestra, a nonprofit supporting jazz performance and education.
In 2021, Rose was appointed New Orleans Music and Culture Curator for the JazzAscona Festival in Switzerland. He also launched The Lagniappe Sessions, an NPR-distributed radio program featuring New Orleans artists, .

Commissions

In 2022, Rose was commissioned to compose a new work for the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance company, , inspired by the 2019 church burnings in St. Landry Parish. The work premiered at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver.

Board Service

Rose serves on the boards of the Cape May Jazz Festival Foundation. , Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, the Recording Academy Board of Governors, and the Louisiana Music and Heritage Experience.

Early life

Rose began drumming at age four, taught by his father Vernon Severin. He attended P.A. Capdau Junior High School and later earned acceptance into the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, studying under Clyde Kerr Jr. His classmates included Nicholas Payton, Jason Stewart, Dwight Fitch, Mark Braud, and Abram Wilson.
Rose attended Francis T. Nicholls High School before graduating from Warren Easton High School. He received the Presidential Scholarship to the Berklee College of Music.
At age seventeen, he joined a tour with trumpeter Terence Blanchard.

Discography

As Leader or Co-Leader

  • Song for Donise
  • The Unity
  • On the Verge
  • Adonis Rose and the N.O. Vaders
  • Piece of Mind: Live at the Blue LLama
  • Adonis Rose Trio featuring Gabrielle Cavassa
  • Songs: The Music of Allen Toussaint
  • Petite Fleur
  • Crescent City Christmas
  • ''NOJO7: Live at the Blue LLama''

    Selected Sideman Work

  • Gumbo Nouveau – Nicholas Payton
  • Payton’s Place – Nicholas Payton
  • Nick at Nite – Nicholas Payton
  • Dear Louis – Nicholas Payton
  • Sonic Trance – Nicholas Payton
  • Sonic Trance Live – Nicholas Payton
  • La Pregunta – Peter Martin
  • The Answer – Peter Martin
  • From Whence We Came – Andrew Baham
  • Cyclicality – Jason Stewart
  • Love Happened to Me – Phillip Manuel
  • Max Jazz Christmas – Phillip Manuel
  • The Questions – Kurt Elling